“What are you saying, boy?” asked the horrified Colonel.
“I have watched her eyes. Awful eyes. And it would be better, for he won’t repent, of course. And he swears all the time, and you know when he breaks the Third Commandment, what it says in the ‘reason annexed.’”
But the Colonel, being deprived of the privilege of instruction in the shorter Catechism in his youth, was quite beyond his depth.
“‘Reason annexed?’ What on earth are you driving at?”
“You know what the reason annexed to the Third Commandment says, Uncle Colonel, about the breakers of the commandment.”
“No,” confessed the Colonel. “What does it say?”
“That ‘the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.’ So you see he can’t escape, and it would be better if he died very soon.”
“Good Lord!” muttered the Colonel, appalled at the relentless theory of the divine administration of the universe. “But what about the Sixth Commandment? Surely that forbids killing.”
“No, Uncle Colonel,” replied the young theologian, “not always. For it says it ‘forbiddeth the taking away of our own life or the life of our neighbour _unjustly_,’ and of course it wouldn’t be ‘_unjustly_,’ you see.”
“Great Heavens, boy! Don’t fancy yourself Almighty God. Better leave these things to Him.”
“I do, Uncle Colonel,” said Paul with great solemnity. “Of course I do.”
“Well, keep up your Catechism, but for Heaven’s sake get old Fraser, I mean Mr. Fraser—he’s your parson, isn’t he?—to explain things to you.”
“Oh, Daddy explains them to me every Sunday. He makes me say the Catechism over every Sunday, and then I read him my lessons. You know, the lessons Mother used to teach me from the Bible. Except when Sleeman comes—then we sometimes forget.”
“One thing, young fellow, don’t let your—ah—what do you call her?—the Indian woman, I mean——”
“Don’t let Onawata—a pretty name—get any such bloodthirsty notions in her head, or she may murder the beast some day. Then they’d hang her, b’Jove. Now I’m coming round to see your father soon. I have been rather busy, but I must come soon. Now let us ride down. Don’t fret, and if you want help any time ride over for me.”
It was not till the following Sunday that the Colonel was able to fulfil his promise, and it being the Sunday for the Anglican service, which came once in the month, it was late in the afternoon when he rode up to Pine Croft and gave his horse into the care of Indian Louis. Through the open door of the living room came Gaspard’s voice, booming loudly.